This invention relates in general to integrated circuits, and in particular to a mount for a programmable electronic processing device.
Processing devices may constitute a processor which comprises at least one structure in the form of a monolithic integrated circuit. Both analog and digital signals or data may be processed, depending on the application. The relatively small electronic processor modules allow the processors to be housed along with additional circuits, such as memories, in a relatively small package. The relatively small package dimensions are a characteristic of microprocessors. If at least two individual structures are contained in a mount, this may be referred to as a hybrid circuit, as distinguished from those cases where only a single monolithic integrated circuit may be present.
The use of microprocessors is increasing in all areas of technology, since they readily lend themselves to embodiments of various control processes. The cost and complexity of microprocessors is relatively low, and they allow for decentralized solutions. A wide range of microprocessor applications is in mechanical engineering, particularly in the automotive field, which is increasingly resorting to microprocessors to improve the behavior of various vehicle systems, subsystems and components.
In many cases where such processors can be used, however, a basic problem arises from the fact that the technology life cycle times may differ widely for the manufacturer and user of the processors. When such processors are adopted for use in a technical system, as uniform a product as possible should be available not only for the manufacture but also for replacement throughout the development, planning, fabrication, and operating lifetimes of the associated system.
In the event of a technology change, aside from the changes in electrical connection parameters, the potentially changed sensitivities to overvoltages, polarity reversals, and electromagnetic interference have to be taken into account. There are also changes in the interfering effect on other circuits, for example by steeper clock-pulse and data edges which travel as electromagnetic interference signals over relatively long lines.
The pace of development in semiconductor technology is generally ahead of the time frame specified by the user, primarily because the development must follow then-current technology changes to be able to implement increasingly complex circuits. The continued use of obsolete technologies involves the use of parallel production lines, which are usually uneconomical because full capacity utilization is not ensured.
What is needed is a mount for a processing device which enables the semiconductor manufacturer, on the one hand, to use state-of-the-art semiconductor processes and, on the other hand, to allow the product to be used for a relatively long time.